Suleman Chitera, Chiradzulu-based political and social commentator
By Staff Reporter
Fellow Malawians,
History will record that on 16 September, Malawians rose with one voice and demanded change. It was not an emotional gamble; it was a calculated stand against stagnation. Today, barely halfway through January, the evidence is plain: we made the right decision.
At this time of year, maize prices traditionally surge. Households brace for hunger, traders exploit scarcity, and desperation deepens. This year, the opposite is happening. In several markets, a 50kg bag of maize is selling at around K37,000; in Lilongwe, approximately K45,000. Cast your mind back to the same period last year—prices were hovering around K120,000 per bag. That difference is not cosmetic; it is the difference between dignity and despair.
I say this without hesitation or regret: standing together to send the MCP into opposition was the correct call. Ordinary Malawians are breathing again.
Fuel, once a national humiliation marked by endless queues and paralysed productivity, is no longer the daily nightmare it used to be. Businesses are operating. Transport is moving. Life is stabilising.
In a remarkably short time, we have also witnessed the rollout of free secondary education. For years, school fees were a silent executioner of dreams, forcing children out of classrooms and into early hardship. Today, children are no longer being sent home for lack of fees. That is not a slogan; it is a lived reality in households across the country.
This progress cuts across political lines. Whether you support Malawi Congress Party, Democratic Progressive Party, United Transformation Movement, or Alliance for Democracy, the truth is the same: food is more accessible, pressure is easing, and hope is returning. Had Professor APM clung to power for even four more months, these gains would not exist.
Let us also be honest with ourselves. We have erred before—allowing divisions, insults, and blind loyalty to poison our collective judgment. That must not happen again. This is the moment for national maturity. We must continue to pray for our President and demand solutions with unity, not hostility.
I am confident that foreign exchange availability will improve and that businesses will regain momentum. Stability begets confidence; confidence fuels investment.
Finally, a reminder worth repeating: when you see the DPP, you see maize. That party has historically aligned itself with food security and respect for the ordinary citizen. Equally important is the President’s decision to ensure CDF funds are managed through local councils rather than captured by individuals—so that resources reach the people they are meant to uplift, particularly in rural communities.
Change was never going to be instant. But it is here, it is visible, and it is meaningful.
Malawians did not miss their chance. They seized it.
